Didi Menendez
Drinking Tea With Napoleon
Gertrude Stein
repeated herself
over and over.Over and over
she repeated herself.Herself,
she would repeat
over and over.
Stein, Gertrude
repeated herself.
In and out
of herself
through Cubism
brushstrokes.There she is again.
Gertrude spoke
about Picasso
as if Napoleon
were listening.Would Napoleon listen
if Gertrude
repeated herself?
Would he?
Would he?
Would he?Stein reappeared
out of nowhere,
her words showed up
in levels
up and up
and out of nowhere.There she is again.
Gertrude and Napoleon drank tea
in Paris as Hitler marched in.Hitler was no match for Ms. Stein.
She would repeat herself
over and over again.Dictated to Toklas.
Alice wrote.
Gertrude repeated herself.In the apartment
facing the Seine.
Napoleon just drank his tea,
admired the Picasso.I do not know
if Stein and Toklas’ apartment
faced the Seine.Lets just
for argument’s sake
say that it did.So, now we know
Gertrude and Napoleon
drank tea.
Toklas was dictated to.Alice wrote
what she was told to write,
as many times
as Gertrude Stein
repeated herself.Ms. Gertrude Stein
wove words through
Picasso brushstrokes.
There she is again.Hitler left them alone.